Lions Postgame Quotes - 8/22/2013

LIONS HEAD COACH JIM SCHWARTZ On the turnovers: "Last week we didn't get any. We were opportunistic, particularly early in the game. We need to get some more points off of them. But yeah, turnovers were coming in a lot of different ways. Interceptions, some forced contact and I thought defense did a good job with those."

On the injuries: "(Louis) Delmas played really well too early in that game. He gives a spark whenever he is in. He was feeling good pregame and he needed to test that out. Calvin (Johnson) wasn't quite 100-percent and we made the decision to sit him down until he's 100-percent. We need him 100-percent going into the season. We decided to scratch him at the last minute. The other stuff, you know, Montell Owens, that didn't look good, but we'll wait and see what the tests look like. There were some encouraging things from the test they did afterwards, but you really don't know. It was premature to speculate on where he is. We want to get him some runs in there. He's sort of a hybrid fullback running back. He stuffed that first one up in there good and we were looking forward to seeing him get that next one, but unfortunately he wasn't able to finish."

On the progress the offensive line has made: "I think we ran the ball, but I think a lot of that goes to our running backs. I thought Reggie (Bush), Joique (Bell), (Mikel) Leshoure, Theo (Riddick), all those guys ran well. Not always against good looks. I thought our offensive line did a very good job of blocking for screens. I thought that was a big point early in the game we were having a hard time getting the ball outside, but if you get them inside, sometimes that gets overlooked, you know, be athletic enough to be able to block on screens and get those guys started and they were able to do that and protect the quarterback well. I think we took one sack in the game so I think they did a good job there."

On DE Ezekiel Ansah being in the right place at the right time: "I don't know if it's being in the right place at the right time. That's part of being a good player is putting yourself in those positions. I thought our front rushed very well. They created pressure. We didn't blitz a lot, but when we did it was pretty effective. I thought those guys did a good job of making it difficult for their quarterbacks to find guys in the field. That's a very good passing offense and that's a very good scheme. They have good players within it and one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the National Football League, so our pass rush was able to combat a lot of that."

On RB Joique Bell: "He's strong and he has very good balance and he is very difficult to bring down. He's not the fastest guy in the world, but he's certainly not slow. He's done a nice job both in the pass game and in the run game. I think we saw that last year from him too. It's just a continuation of what we saw last year."

On if this was the best he's seen of QB Kellen Moore: "I think Kellen has been very good in camp. He's moved the offense, he's made good decisions and he's thrown the ball very well. I think you're just seeing an extension of that. Probably his most extensive playtime and he did a good job of leading us and getting some passes in there. We have been seeing that from him all training camp."

On P Sam Martin's 57-yard punt: "It was a three-point punt. You really think about it because we backed him up. Defense got a hold. We used all our timeouts and got the ball back around midfield. Offense got, I think, three catches in a row. Hoping to have a little bit more time so we could have either have gotten a little bit closer, even taking a shot at the end zone. Right at that ten second (mark) it was tough and we didn't want to come away with no points right there. I guess you'd say that's a three-point punt because we got three points out of that field position."

LIONS QB MATTHEW STAFFORDOn the offense: "We got one on the board early, which was nice. Our defense did a heck of a job getting us the ball and some great field position. We didn't take advantage of the opportunities as much as we wanted too. I thought Reggie (Bush) had another good game and played well. Tight ends played pretty well tonight too. It's progress and we're moving in the right direction."

On RB Reggie Bush's role through the past two games: "Obviously, we're not showing everything just like nobody is showing everything. He is a talented guy as far as catching the ball out of the backfield and making plays. The screen early on in the game is definitely an example of it."

On the level of concern with the offense: "I'm not concerned. I think we're moving in the right direction. We were down a big play maker in our offense tonight and our defense knew that, showed up and played great. It's about the team, man. It was a team win tonight. Our defense did a great job. Our special teams played great. Pinned them in long field and gave us some short field. It was a team win. It was good."

On if tonight's win alleviates last week's loss: "Yeah, you just want to see the team respond. We didn't play well in any of the phases last week and we wanted to come out and make a statement physically. I think we did it. Our defense did a great job. I thought we ran the ball really well. Especially in the second half, those guys got their downhill shoes on and when you have a lead, being able to run the ball and pick up first downs and chew up the clock and still score at the same time is a good sign."

On QB Kellen Moore's performance: "Kellen played great. I was happy for him. I thought the o-line did a great job keeping him up right. He spun it great just like he's been doing all camp. You get that running game going and those windows open up in the pass game and he was right on. I was happy for him."

On T LaAdrian Waddle: "He's a guy that's super talented. Frankly, kind of bewilders me how he didn't get drafted. You look at him and he looks the part. You watch him play and he plays the part. I was happy for him. He's been playing well in camp. He's been playing both sides of the ball in camp so it was sure nice for him to get to stick to one side kind of with the first group and go out there and play. He's a talented kid and a guy you want to keep getting looks at."

LIONS LB STEPHEN TULLOCHOn the active defensive line: "The d-line made my job easy. Those guys, they just show up to every game. To have (Ndamukong) Suh, (Nick) Fairley, C.J. Mosley, J.J. (Jason) Jones, Willie (Young) and Izzy (Israel Idonije), the rotation is great for me and for the linebackers, and we're able to get downhill and make plays. We did a good job turning the ball over and our secondary is playing good ball. Everything came together tonight. Hopefully, we can piggyback this as we get ready for our first game of the season."

On his penalties that hurt the team defensively: "Obviously, we have a little edge to us and penalties hurt us. Whenever you get 15-yard penalties, it sets you back. We had a couple of them tonight and we'll work on. Guys came in here during halftime and I apologized for it. That's what you want - to recognize your mistake and put it behind you and keep going forward. The chemistry and atmosphere of the team this year is way different than last year. I think guys are receptive and understand that penalties will hurt us and we got to move on from that, absolutely."

On the defense creating four New England turnovers in the first half: "I think a lot of it's due to the pressure. We get pressure upfront and we can get after them upfront, it creates a lot of turnovers. (Tom) Brady hit the ground a lot today and that's up to the d-line and linebackers creating pressure upfront. We're able to get our hands on the ball. DeAndre Levy was able to cause a fumble and Chris (Houston) was able to pick one off, so things are coming together as a team. Like I said, this is just a stepping stone, we can't get comfortable. We got to keep climbing to get better and better."

LIONS RB REGGIE BUSHOn the first team-offense: "I thought we looked pretty good out there today. We had some situations where we could be better at. I felt like when the defense turned the ball over, or they got some turnovers a few times, we should've came away with touchdowns. Against a good team like that during the regular season you have to come away with touchdowns because they're a good team and they can score quick. We have to do a better job on scoring points on those turnovers, but I think for the most part on offense we put together some good drives today."

On his 67-yard run: "I was pretty upset that I got caught. It was a good job by Matt (Stafford) getting the ball to me. The offensive line did a great job getting out there hustling and getting some blocks for me then springing me loose. I was kind of waiting on the blocks down the field and (Brandon) Pettigrew was in front of me, (Patrick) Edwards was also in front of me. They were blocking so I was kind of slow playing and letting them make their blocks and I should've just took off and just ran. Nevertheless, I thought it was a good play and it gave us a lot of momentum early on."

On not scoring off of the turnovers: "We just didn't execute. We missed a few. We were one play away here, one block away there. Those are the type of things that we have to correct now. It's good it's happening now in the preseason because it's something that we need to work on and get better at. Hopefully we can correct it and prepare for regular season."

On if the Lions' ones beat the Patriots' ones: "It's a good football team. I thought we matched up pretty well today. I thought our defense played lights out today. They did a great job at getting us really good field positioning throughout that first half. Offense, we did a pretty good job and had some struggles here and there. I thought our ones won the battle today."

On if he could be the No. 2 receiver: "I'll be whatever they want me to be. I got a lot of passes and it was a good preview of what's to come during the regular season."

LIONS DT NDAMUKONG SUHOn the play of the defensive line: "We can be a lot better. From a rush standpoint, we can better up some internal stuff, just some different stuff internally I know we can clean up. Calls, getting lined up a little bit quicker, things of that sort. I think we played, for the most part imposing our will, but I think we can do more."

On getting four turnovers: "It's a good start. You have to start somewhere. Obviously we haven't done it as much in the previous years and the first two preseason games, so it's a good start especially in an important game where the majority of the starters are playing and obviously the younger guys stepped up and got some things done as well."

On turnovers being a focus during camp: "To be honest with you I don't think there has been a big coaching emphasis on it, but there has been a big emphasis on it from the standpoint of the players. We want to make plays and get the ball back. That's how we want to feed off each other. Just making those big plays, getting turnovers and getting the ball back to the offense. Obviously, the coaches want that as well, but it's something that we took as a defense that we want to make plays. When we do goal line drills in practice we don't want that running back getting to the end zone, we're not letting that receiver catch the ball in the end zone. It's things like that that we are practicing to make sure we are not allowing it and if we can get those turnovers."

On DE Jason Jones' presence: "I've told JJ (Jason Jones) and Israel (Idonije), who for the most the time are playing next to me that they are doing a hell of a job. Just from seeing the collapse in the pocket and I told JJ when he got his second sack that I had a double team, but the thing is, that's beautiful because I get to watch him make the play because I am pushing two guys back and he is right in my field of vision. He is collapsing the pocket. It is something beautiful to see. That gives me opportunities for sacks. We are going to meet at the quarterback. That's exciting to have."

LIONS DE JASON JONESOn the defense forcing turnovers: "That's what we know we can do. We try to get the ball out in practice every day. Coming into this game we knew we had a pretty good challenge ahead of us. New England has a pretty good offense and they use a lot of things out there. We wanted to come out, set the tone and play aggressive out there, especially playing at home. We always want to be aggressive and we got four turnovers which is great for our defense."

On if last week's performance is more puzzling now: "Last week, offensively and defensively we weren't on cue with everything. Coming out this game, we put a big emphasis on this game and being prepared for what they do, like the hurry up offense. I think overall we did a pretty good job."

On getting pressure on the Patriots' quarterbacks: "It is exactly what we need to do. We just need to get back there to anybody. Any quarterback that gets pressure in their face, they're going to make mistakes. That's what we wanted to do. We got to Tom (Brady) early and made sure we were in his face early and we got him down three or four times. I think overall, we can build on this right now."

On building on this win going into the regular season: "I believe we can. With the team we got right now, we have so many weapons on offense and so many playmakers on defense. Once all that comes together, offense, defense and special teams, I think the sky is the limit for us."

LIONS S LOUIS DELMASOn how it felt to play: "Great. Great is an understatement to how it really felt. It just feels good. It was a breath of fresh air to physically be out there with my teammates. Each and every day they practice and prepare for the game mentally and physically, I am not always out there physically but I am always out there mentally. To finally get out there physically with my teammates, it feels great."

On the defense forcing turnovers: "We faced a very good quarterback, he can pick apart any defense. Fortunately today I think we got the best of him. Not down talking him in any way. He is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and he is going to be wearing a yellow jacket one day. Sometimes you can have the best of both worlds and you can have the worst of both worlds. Today I think we got the better of him."

On the momentum from the win carrying over: "We don't want to look back to two years ago and we don't want to look too far in the future but two years ago we played here and had a very similar outcome and we went to the playoffs. Every year we put on pads we think we know mentally and physically that we are able to get to the playoffs but it's about going out there and doing it. I definitely think this year with the chemistry of the team we will be able to go out there and perform."